European champion Ray Moylette booked his place in the World Championships in Azerbaijan later this month following a cracking tussle with Irish champ Ross Hickey on Friday night.
Mayo lad Moylette and Hickey, from Grangecon Boxing Club in Co Wicklow, were boxing off for the right to join the rest of the Irish team on the plane to Baku for the championships, which begin on 26 September.
Hickey won the first two rounds (4-3 and 5-3) to give himself a three-point advantage but Moylette dominated the final round, scoring nine times to edge out his opponent on a 15-13 scoreline.
The contest was shrouded in some controversy, with many believing Moylette’s European success earlier this summer entitled him to take his place in the worlds.
However, the fact that he missed the Irish championships through injury meant that a box-off was scheduled, and Hickey (pictured top right) can consider himself unfortunate to miss out on a chance at the worlds despite his national title.
Irish head coach Billy Walsh told the Irish Independent: “It was a fantastic contest – one of the best I’ve seen in the Stadium in a long, long time.
“The two lads are world-class athletes, but unfortunately there has to be a loser, and tonight it was Ross. Ross, to me, looked to be in a great position going into the last round, but Ray put together some fantastic shots in the last three minutes.”
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